Greaseproof paper or paper which retains its strength in contact with grease



Patented June 10, 1930 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE GEORGE JAMES MANSON, F I EAWKESBUBY, ONTARIO, GANAIDA GREASEPROOF PAPER )3 PAPER WHICH RETAINs ITs srnnne'rn IN CONTACT WITH GREASE No Drawing.

i This invention relates to paper or board having a considerable degree of water resistance and having a certain stability toward grease, and relates in particular to paperengine and after mixing thoroughly with th pulp to'add a precipitant o-r coagulant; alum being the material usually employed for such purposes.

In accordance with the present invention a product is obtained from a wax such-as paraflin wax'which contains wax particles in so fine a form of division or in some. peculiar form of dispersion, such that a precipitant is not necessarily required to secure adhe sion of the particles of wax to the cellulose fibres.

, The waxy element or ingredient of the composition preferably is essentially paraffin wax and for this purpose, in some cases, scale wax or other cheap grade of paraffin wax may be employed.

' Wax preferably is first incorporated with, for example, a solution of silicate of soda and an emulsion produced, whereupon a quantity of a precipitant such as hydrated lime, alum,

and the like, is added to react completely with the silicate of soda. By this procedure the wax is obtained in a dispersed form having the property aforesaid of becoming occluded or taken up by moist fibres of wood or cellulose. 7

In some casesa protective colloid such as a small amount of glue, casein, and the like may form an ingredient of the composition, being added preferably with the silicate of soda. In other-cases the wax may contain a 45 small amount of oleic or stearic acid. In still Application filed'M-arch 14, 1927. .Serial No. 175,428.

other cases the wax may have incorporated with it a varying proportion of vegetable waxes such as candelilla or carnauba wax or an acidic mineral wax such as Montan wax or montanic acid. The incorporation of such hard Waxes with the paraflin'wax serves to modify its melting point and to some extent its properties of dispersion.

The wax or mixture of waxes may be incorporated with the silicate of soda by melting the former and placing in an agitator, whereupon the solution of silicate of soda is added and the mixture thoroughly agitated for a short time. Then a precipitant,'for example,

a quantity of alu'm equivalent to the sodium silicate is added and agitation continued for an additional brief period, whereupon the dispersed wax composition is'obtained ready for use. Preferably'this composition should contain from 25 to 30 per cent of waxy mate- 35 rial and preferably, though not necessarily,

such compositions should be practically neutral to ordinary tests such as that with litmus. Its pH value preferably .sliould range from 7 Examples of such compositions are the following:

Ewample] 25513 Paraffin wax 33 Silicate of soda 4 Alum 2 Glue 1 Water -i 6O diluted silicate of soda. The wax composition was prepared by first melting the Wax, 00

adding the silicate of soda solution containing the glue and agitating, finally addingthe I alum solution with agitation. Thetempera- Example 2 Partsby weight Paraflin wax u 32.5

Montan wax 0.85

Silicate of soda 5 Alum." 2.75 Glue 0.4 Water -l 58.5

ture at which the composition is prepared is about 170 F.

order to preserve the latter. The waxes are melted together and the silicate of soda solution containing the glue is added thereto with thorough agitation, the. temperature bemg about 170 F. The alum solution is then added and agitationcontinued for a short time.

Emampl e 3 are Parafiin wax 31 Montan wax 7 Silicate of soda 2.65 Alum 1. 35 Water 58 7 The silicate of soda syrup is diluted with a part of the water and the alum isdiluted with the remainder, somewhat similar to the manner set forth in Examples 1 and 2. The waxes are melted together and the silicateof soda solution is added thereto v th vigorous agitation at a working temperature of 170 F. When the incorporation is thoroughly effected the alum solution is introduced. A-

very fine wax dispersion results.

Ewample .4

Partsh; wei ht Paraffin wax 3% Quick lime 1. 7 Alum .l. 4:. 6 Water ..4...'- 56.7

The quick lime is treated with about '65 per cent of the total water nd he alum is dissolved in the remaining wa' er. The wax is melted and placed in an agitator and the milk of lime is added. After stirring vigorously for about one minute the alum solution is added and agitation continued for two minutes, when the wax composition is ready for use. As in the foregoing, 1t'1s recommended that the working temperature in the preparation of the wax composition be about The foregoing compositionsserve to illus- 'ized, also that substances of an equivalent character may replace one-or more of the foregoing constituents.

I prefer, to dilute the wax composition (which comes from theagitator containing approximately 3.0 per cent of waxy material) until it contains about 5 per cent of waxy material and add it inthe diluted-state to the beater through a screen of about 60 mesh. I have found that this insures a-better dis-. persion through the stock in the beater. "When using waxes containing rosin soaps and free rosin it is necessary to closely con trol the acidity of the stock after the size is addedto assure proper coagulation of. the size on the'fibres, this acidity having a value corresponding to pH of ,about 4.5. Rosin size, furthermore, should be preferably added to stock that is slightly alkaline. I have found that when the wax composition involved in the present invention is Y used. thattheacidity of thepaper stock, after said composition is added, is not-at all/critical,- and may vary from an acidity corresponding to a value of 4.5 to 7 ,without affecting the retention of the wax by; the fibre. :I have also. found that the wax composition can be added to the pulp if the pulp is acid,

that is, correspond ng to a pH value of from 5 to 6.5. In this case it is not necessary to add any further precipitant such as 'a um. This allows of a considerable saving of alum.

of the'beneficial effect of the use of this wax composition A plant engaged in the forming of pulp articles and using standard rosin size hadconsiderable difliculty due tothe rosin adhering to the wires on the forming machines,

making a product which had badly formed edges and holes. They also had trouble with their piping system and pumps on account of the acidity of the stock due to the use of the amount of alum necessary to precipitate the rosin size. In this plant when'rosin size was discontinuedand a'wax composition made in the manner above set forth was .employed,'no

trouble was experienced with the products sticking to the wires on the forming machine,

and furthermore the production was increased at least 15 per cent, with the product being uniformly much cleaner 'on theedges 10 the fibres of from 75 per cent to 90 per cent,

dependin on thenature of the stock, resulted. or'eover, any wax that is not retained on the fibre does not adhere to the felts or wires of the paper machine or forming machines, but is carried away with the white water. Wax which does not adhere .to the pulp fibres mustnot adhere to the felt and to the wires, as this would prevent drainage of the pulp sheet and cause holes in the sheet,

or spots on the surface of the sheet. I have found that the addition of only 1% per centof Wax will give water resisting qualities satisfactory for the ordinary uses to Which paper products are put, although for special purposes the amount of Wax can be increased to 4 or 5 per cent. I have found that the addition of wax up to 5 per cent tends to increase the strength .and to improve the rattle 0r stiffness. This is a surprising result as paraffin wax has been supposed to have a lubricating action on fibres and thus yield a Weak limp paper. Paper containing this wax dispersion is not as susceptible to changes in atmospheric molsture, and for'thls reason is peculiarly adapted to use in the printing trade where it is necessary to register two or more impressions. I have found that paper containing 1 to 1 per cent of Wax and 1 to 2 per cent of rosin, the rosin being added as 40 ordinary rosin size, does not lose strength when subjectedto the action of a greasy material as paper does when it is'only sized with the ordinaryrosin size. This property makes the use of emulsion in paper for food containers and greasy articles very valuable.

When the plant aforesaid was using rosin size it was necessary for them to use fresh water in the beater and to dilutethe stock before it went to the forming machines. As

this water Was pumped from artesian wells it was an item of considerable expense. With the wax composition the plant could be worked in a closed system, that is, the water drained from the forming machines was returned to the beaters and the 'make-up chests.

It is possible to do this when using thewax composition because the wax therein is not critical as regards the acidity of'the stock in the beater when the said composition is added and the amount of alum necessary to adjust the acidity is very small. In the-particular instance cited, less than one-tenth of the alum that was used with the rosin size was used I with the wax composition. R5

The formation of a wax dispersion composition in the manner described above, that is,

adding a precipitating substance to armixor emulsion into the paper pulp stock.

By employing such a pre-set or partially pre-set wax dispersion composition, preferably containing parafiix wax as the principal waxy component, I am enabled to produce a composition having the novel property of being absorbable by paper pulp stock in large proportion, that is, the major proportion ofthe wax is readily taken up. by the pulp, with or without the addition of additional precipitant, andthe minor proportion of saiddispersion composition, usually representing only from 10 to 20 per cent of the entire wax, being capable of passing tl'irough the screen, felt or other Web (upon which the pulp is formed into a sheet) without fouling and obstructing said web. In this respect I believe that I have obtained a wax dispersion composition possessing qualities of great importance in the manufacture of water resisting paper, pressboard, and the like.

- As indicated by the foregoing, the water resistant paper is prepared by adding the wax dispersion composition to pulp at any suitable stage prior toformation of the pulp into a sheet. Thus the composition may be added to best advantage in the beater engine. The paper stock may be any suitable ma terial such as sulphite pulp, sulphate pulp, or kraft stock, newsprint, ground wood, and

the like, or mixtures of these. Ins-ome cases,

rag stock may be added. Preferably, as indicated, the proportion of wax in the finished paper may be from 1 to2 per cent, to

secure a considerable degree of water resist-t be shaped in any suitable manner. The usual paper making machines, such as the cylinder -machine and the Fourdrinier machine, may

be employed, thus forming a layer of the paper pulp and wax composition on a'felt or wire support, as the case may be. After drying the paper preferably is run through calender rolls. If pressboard is to be produced, this may be prepared on board machines.

In some cases, as has been indicated, rosin size may be introduced into the charge in the beater engine and a composite eifect obtained by the presence in the paper of the waxy material and the rosin size. When the latter is used, it is essential to add to the pulp some substance such as alum, and the like, which will cause the rosin size to precipitate among the fibres. In such a case, therefore, I incorporate the pre-set wax dispersion composition and rosin-size with the paper pulp. In the finished paperthere may be present from say, 1 to 3 per cent, of wax,

and a like amount of rosin size material.

Paperof this character not only is notably water resistant in the sense the term isemplo'yed in the case of papers of this general character, but also it has the property of exhibiting a considerable resistance to the action'of grease and hence may be termed a grease-resistant and water-resistant paper product. A moderately heavy paper or light board made in this manner may be employed to advantage in the production of containers .for greasy foods.

In summation of the foregoing, my'invention relates to a rosin-sized,water-resistant paper, stable toward grease, containing preferably pre-set paraflin wax, with orwithout other waxes; such Waxy material preferably having beenintroduced into the paper during the process of making as a wax dispersion or, emulsion composition; said pre-set waxy material cooperating with the rosin sizing to produce grease-stable paper, which does not lose its strength when subjected to the action of greasy material.

The grease-stable Water-resistant paper preferably contains between 1 and 2 per cent of pre-set paraflin ,wax and between 1 and 3 per cent of rosin size, the latter preferably taining between one and two per cent of preset paraflin wax and between one and three per cent of rosin size.

3. A paper manufacture containing rosin and at least a partially pre-set wax, the rosin and wax bein present in amount suficient to yield water and grease resistant properwax composition so that the paper is sub stantiallyfree from wax spots.

7. A resin sized water resistant paper stable toward grease produced with a non-fouling-mineral wax composition added to the pulp from which the paper is made, so that the paper made therefrom is substantially free from wax spots. I

8. A-rosin sized water resistant paper stabletoward grease containing -pre-set mineral wax. J

' GEORGE JAMES MANSON.

being slightly in excess of the wax. By rosin size I include both rosin and resinate as the substances may appear in paper at sizing wlth, for example, rosin soap containing free rosin and using aluminum sulphate or aluthe thickness thereof.

minum hydrate as preciptating material.-

The invention also embraces the, process of making grease-stable water-resistant paper, which'comprises forming a dispersion of paraflin wax in which the wax at least is partially pre-set, incorporating with paper pulp, adding rosinsize and a coagulating agent, and forming the so-treated gulp into a sheet, yielding paper or paper oard, according to In copending case No. 175,427, filed March 14, 1927, there is claimed the method of treat ing paper pulp, while in copendingcase No. 175,440, filed on the same date, the water resistant paper containing pre-set waxis claimed. i

What I claim is 1. A'rosin-sized water-resistant paper,'stab1e toward grease, containing pre-set parafiin wax. v

2. Grease-stable water-resistant paper con- 

